St. Peter Claver (1580-1654) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to Latin America. He is known as the "Apostle of the West Indies" and the "Slave to the Slaves."

Peter Claver was born in Verdu, Catalonia, on July 26, 1580, of prosperous parents. Little is known of his early years. In 1602 he entered the Society of Jesus. Three years later he began to study with Alphonsus Rodriquez in Majorca, with whom he shared a spiritual model of life focused on "suffering with Christ," which he would try to emulate for the rest of his life.

Haunted by a vision of going where he was really needed, Claver left his theological studies before completion and in 1610 went to Cartagena, New Granada (now Colombia). "Why stay in Europe," he asked, "when there are so many men of God needed in America"" He finished his Jesuit requirements and was ordained a priest in 1616 in...